Prioritizing Projects From My Goals List

My goals lists for 2012 have been very helpful to me this year. I’m so thankful that the Lord provided the time, and the wisdom, for me to get them all written out in January.

Days have a way of quickly becoming weeks and then months. Without a written list of goals that I hope to achieve during the course of the year, it’s easy to allow the rush of days to just sweep along without my getting anything done. Having a written list of goals for this year, prioritized by importance, has helped me keep on top of the things that are important to me, without losing sight of them in the hubbub of my busy days.

It’s been a crazy-busy first five months of the year, but I have kept my written goals constantly on my radar by referring to them at least once a week. Having written goals to refer to when life was at its busiest enabled me to not only finish the quilt for my ten year old grandson, but to also get a good start on the quilt for my eight year old grandson.

With several projects now behind me or nearing completion, it’s time to revisit my goals lists and see which projects need to be tackled next. Then it’s time to begin breaking the big goals down into smaller, do-able pieces. Here are a couple of examples.

We’ve been diligently working all winter inside our home. Our front hall way, entry way and a small dining room are all open to one another and share common walls. It was a big project that we broke into smaller chunks, which kept it moving forward even during the holiday season. We were making great headway until the issue of the carpet in the hallway and dining room was raised by my husband. The carpet really has seen better days! So, that “inside my home” project has been temporarily put on hold as we look into the possibility of new carpet.

However, the weather is now glorious here in northern California, and we really want to spend more time outside. I have a list of goals for “outside my home”, and the top goal on that list is simply “backyard”. I have a lot of very grand, long range plans for our backyard, but the reality is that we can only accomplish just a very little bit every year with the resources the Lord gives us. It’s ALL from His good hand!

With that in mind, I have broken the overall plan for the backyard into smaller projects. Next, I prioritized those projects by importance and then broke the top couple of projects down into bite size pieces. In doing that, I’m having to let go of some of the things I’d really really like to do so that we can do the more important/responsible things.

In this case, I would really (really really really) like to plant the flower beds along the back of my house. However, it truly is more important that we get weed barriers and bark down around the pool. Once the pool is in daily use, the ground around the pool is constantly muddy. Water loving weeds thrive and are difficult to pull, and our web-footed dog tracks mud into the house on a daily basis. Plants in the flower beds around the back of the house would be grand, but keeping the mud outside really is the top priority. With that in mind, I’ve broken the poolside project down into all the steps we’ll need to take to get the job done: Weeding – applying a pre-emergent weed killer – covering everything with several layers of newspaper – purchasing the bark – spreading the bark.

Thank you for this very timely reminder as I approach the end of the school year and look ahead to the summer off from work. I have several goals for the summer but I will be writing them down and breaking them down this weekend. I so appreciate the accountability of a written plan and I love the feeling of crossing items off a list. As I work off the the plan, I know I will hear your sweet reminder to hold those plans loosely!

Writing goals down, and then writing down all of the intermediate steps needed to achieve those goals, is very helpful in keeping us on track. Having it in writing also helps us see where a step might be missing, or helps us work through a problem when we hit a snag. And oh yes, just as you’ve mentioned, there’s that glorious time of crossing things off as they are accomplished!

Yep! Referring back to those goals is a key part of keeping on track toward achieving them. A reminder to recheck my goals is actually on my recurring daily “to do” list as part of my system for managing my home. And yes, I need reminders like that for *everything*! 🙂

Hi Cheryl, I have not been on the computer much since the beginning of April. I have been just in not the best mood, my mom was admitted to the hospital on April 1, 2012 and was there until the 20th when she passed away. I came to your blog today because I remember it from a while back and you are so organized,I am hoping to glean some great ideas from you again as I did back then. My home is more than organized as you can probably imagine and I love this making goals thing but now it’s almost June so I think I am a little late but I will make it my goal to get things listed down by next January 🙂
Thanks so much for your blog and your beautiful pictures. I need to go and revisit your cleaning and organizing tips and such as I am in great need of them right now. I would like to ask you please to keep my family in your prayers as we try to get through this hard time in our lives. I feel like my entire world has turned upside down the past few months. I am truly not functioning at all like I normally do and I know any and all prayers I can get will help. Thank you, Joann Allen

About Copperswife

I'm Cheryl Linebarger, and I've been Copper's Wife for 36 years. I have two grown daughters, one grown son, one teen son, two wonderful sons-in-love and eight grandchildren, 13 years old and under. Copperswife is a place to find encouragement as you joyfully look well to the ways of your own household.